Cypress Goldcrest fading to brown
Steve Pearce
Posts: 13
Hi all,
I have a couple of Cypress Goldcrest conifers by the front door. Over the last week or so ive noticed that they have started to fade from their normal vibrant green to a slightly greedy/brown. I don't think they've been too dry; they get the sun until around 10am at best and one of the gets some rainfall (the other is more under the porch roof).
Confusingly, in a hanging basket I have a much smaller conifer (I think the same) which has stayed its usual green.
Ive had a look at it a bit closer and the inside of the tree near the stem looks green, but I'm a little worried its dying? Is it? I've tried watering them a bit but hasn't seemed to change it much. Is this normal? Should I be feeding them anything In particular.
For info, they are about 2.5ft tall and 2 years old.
Any tips?
thanks
steve
Posts
Your pictures have come out quite small Steve , but I think it's curtains for the Goldcrest !
Is that any better?
I'm afraid that once than off-greenish coloration sets in , there is normally no hope ; Sorry , and thanks for your response
The one on the left has now gone a thoroughly brown colour - i assume its gone? If i chopped it right back, i.e. almost to the main stem or stump, is that likely to help?
My cousin (a gardener) reckoned on seeing the pictures that they'd probably dried out too much and by the time they showed it it was too late to do anything, but that thorouhgly watering them and feeding them with liquid seaweed might rescue them - the right one seems to have starting going green again so fingers crossed that works.
Incidently, i emptied a few of these boxes the other day when replacing some plants, and noticed that the top 6 inches or so was damp but below that it was almost bone dry. This despite water coming out of the bottom of the box when giving it a real soaking. I suspect that maybe this is happening here, the boxes dont retain any water. Would lining these boxes with some plastic sheeting or similar with the odd small hole help?
Once they're dry at the roots, it's very difficult to rehydrate them, and even if you do, conifers don't often respond, unless you've caught them in time. The best way to rehydrate is to plunge the whole thing into a bigger container of water and wait till bubbles stop coming to the surface. That's when they're fully moistened.
Anything in a container needs to be kept well watered and it doesn't take much for them to dry out. Being against a house wall is always difficult because they won't catch any rain, even if you think they might. Have you got them in a suitable soil mix too? It needs to be moisture retaining - not just standard compost.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...